Everlark One-shot's
by ArmyofNightAngels
Summary: In this book will be a series of one-shot's written specifically for Everlark. They will be from a variety of AU's. Historical, modern, high school, fairy tale and of course The Hunger Games era.
1. Cinderella Story

**CINDERELLA STORY**

Prologue

If there was one thing Katniss resented more than the everlasting abundance of hatred and complexity in the growing world, it was her ostentatious step sisters and step mother. At the feeble age of eleven, Katniss had travelled through more hardship than any other girl ten years older tan her. Her mother had suddenly fallen ill, her sickness was irreversible and soon became so powerful it pulled little Katniss' mother away from the living world. As though that wasn't enough to haunt her childhood years, Katniss' father soon remarried, claiming he needed not only the company, but also the help to provide for their imploding family and the harsh economic views of society lately. Katniss had always been reluctant in letting the three strange women into her house, however she had no say in the matter. At first they were nice to her, always treating her as though they were blood related family members. But Katniss was intelligent, and she knew that an awful imperious side lay to the the intruders of her and her father's lives.

Shortly after her father had remarried, he disappeared one afternoon coming home from work, there was no word of anything being found after he vanished from sight. Katniss was distraught, her last true family member was ripped from her cruelly, teaching her that love was impossible and only caused hardship in your life. Her step mother and sisters proved that to her more than enough. Their harsh words sinking deep into her, playing tricks with her mind and self conscious.

And that is how she grew up, littered with hatred and cold glares. Her fathers disappearance had caused her step mother to gain full custody of the little girl, nothing could be said or done about it. And Katniss no longer had anyone left in the world she loves, she knew that if anyone were to ever find a place in her heart, they would be ripped away from her to cause her even more pain. That was what she believed the world was like.

"Katniss I swear if you don't get down here this instant you will regret it!"

The sound of Glimmer's shrill voice piercing through the still air wakes me from my sleep. I rub my eyes tiredly, wondering how I have survived this far on the bare minimum.

"Katniss!" Glimmer shrieks again.

I slide off the thin, lumpy mattress and make my way up the basement stairs, wanting nothing more than to snap cruelly back at my horrible step sister. However I had soon found, not long after the three awful women came to live with me, that being my usual fiery self around them created nothing but havoc. The awful woman found pleasure in tormenting me, their evil demeanour opens an opportunity to make sure my life is a living hell.

I hesitate before entering the drawing room. I can hear Glimmer, Clove and my step mother's excited murmurs through the door and wonder what they could possible want to do this early in the morning. Then again, the possibilities are endless. I knock on the door softly before entering. Upon walking through the door, I notice two things seemingly out of place.

The first being the unusually happy smiles plastered across my sister's faces, the second being a scroll opened before them, the parchment crisp and gleamingly white. It was from the palace, that much was obvious.

"What is it?" I ask hesitantly, stepping further into the room.

"Oh Katniss! The prince has invited us to his ball, he's holding it in honour of finding a lady to wed!" Glimmer gushes as her cheeks blush from the excitement.

"Is my name on the invite?" I ask curiously, if the prince is looking to wed, it's no doubt he invited every mistress within age range in our small country of Panem.

"Yes" Clove pouts, her face immediately turning sour.

"What's wrong with me attending?" I ask nervously, wringing my ratted dress in my frail hands.

"Well we decided..." Clove begins, glancing at her mothers nod of approval to continue. "The prince isn't going to even spare you so much as a glance. It would be an utter waste if you were to attend, so we all though you should stay home, you know, do something useful."

I look down shamefully, I should have known they wouldn't allow me to attend the ball. I look at my dirt-caked nails and feel tears well in my eyes. I blink them back, don't let them see you cry.

"Please" I beg, turning to my stepmother. "Please let me attend, I know I have no chance with the prince, especially when Glimmer and Clove will be there."

I instantly feel regretful for lying, especially such a terrible lie as it implies I think my two step sisters have a chance. But it does the trick in pleasing all three of them.

"I'll tell you what" my step mother smirks as she steps up close to me, using her height as an advantage. "You can attend the ball tomorrow night if you finish all your jobs. Oh and by the way, I've added to the list." She flings a roll of parchment into my hands and I instantly feel sick as I unroll it. My eyes scan down the never ending list of jobs.

"B-b-but I'll never get all these done!" I protest, feeling my heart sink as I realise I won't be able to attend the ball.

"The deal stands as it is, if I were you, I'd get started" she sneers as all three of them storm past me out the door. Clove makes sure to bump my should roughly as she passes, causing me to wince as she hits the large bruise which formed there after Glimmer 'accidentally' knocked me down the basement stairs yesterday.

I give myself only a moment to compose myself and blink the tears back before heading out the door to start on my jobs. The list seems endless, by the time I am a quarter of the way through, my hands are red and raw. I look up at the clock upon the wall and realise I must have missed dinner as its well past eight o'clock. My stomach rumbles uncomfortably at the thought, but I know I can't rest, i'm determined to prove them wrong and finish all the chores.

The sun is just breaking through the horizon when I finally hit three quarters of the way through the jobs. I had ceased to rest at all for the entire night, my eyes sting rapidly from the lack of sleep and I feel as though my muscles have completely seized up. I can barely move.

By lunch time I have auspiciously finished the jobs and despite my extreme drowsiness, I manage a smile at the thought that I will get to attend the ball. Ignoring the harsh signs my stomach is sending me, I stagger down to the basement and fall onto my bed. For once I don't even notice how thin and uncomfortable the mattress is, I just fall straight asleep.

I wake up and the first thing I notice is that the sun is nearly down in the sky. I jump up from the bed with a start, glancing at the clock and sighing with relief when I notice that they haven't left yet, though I do only have twenty minutes to get ready. I open the door of my cupboard, the wood creaks and shudders. I only have one nice dress, it was one of the only things I got to keep from my mother when she died. The dress is beautiful, it's an emerald green, sleek, elegant and works perfect with my tan complexion. I slide the dress on and then hang my only other possession of hers around my neck. It's a silver locket, it was my mothers also.

I look in the mirror and decide I don't have time to do anything with my hair, it will have to stay down. I rush from the room, practically running through the large house until I reach the front entrance where all three are preparing to leave.

"Wait!" I call out. They all turn to look at me, mixed expressions of shock and fury etched onto their heavily made up faces.

"What are you doing here?" Clove sneers.

"I finished my jobs" I huff from running, I look towards my step mother.

"Your dress? Did you steal that from one of the girls closets?" She asks suspiciously.

"No" I say defensively, "it was my mothers."

"Well you can't go to the ball wearing that" Glimmer smirks.

"Why not?" I ask fearful as I glance down at the dress.

"Because..." She says as she reaches forward towards me; "it has a rip in it." Her hand snatches at the fabric and before I can jolt away, her hand rips down, effectively tearing a hole down the side of my mothers dress.

"No!" I cry out moving away. Before I can do anything both Glimmer and Clove have jumped forward and started tearing at my dress and hair. I scream at them to stop but I know it's no use, they will never listen.

They all flaunt out the door, laughing as they leave me standing in the entrance. I watch as the carriage pulls away and turn towards the large window. My hair is tangled, a knotted mess. My dress hangs from my body by thin strings of fabric as the emerald dress may as well have been a plastic bag. The special dress which my mother had loved so much. I feel a lone tear slide down my cheek and drop to the floor.

I let out a sob as I run from the room, making my way out to the backyard as I collapse against the fountain, laying my head in my arms and letting the tears finally fall. I should have known they wouldn't have ever let me go.

I don't know how long it has passed before I feel a tap on my shoulder. I sit up abruptly, spinning around to look at the most absurdly dressed woman I have ever seen. Her pink hair is curled and pinned atop of her head, gold eyeshadow and eyeliner outlines her eyes. It's extremely unusual for this time of the age.

"Who are you?" I ask nervously.

"My name is Effie Trinket" she pronounces. "I'm here to help you attend the ball." She claps her hands together excitedly.

"But I can't go, my only nice dress is ruined" I murmur, looking down at the remains of my mothers dress.

"Oh not to worry, we'll have you fixed up really quick" she says turning around and starting to walk off. When she realises i'm not following her, she turns around and waves at me quickly. "Well come on then."

I get up and quickly follow her down the back path, we arrive at two carriages. Effie leads me into one of them and i'm amazed at how many dressed hang around the room.

Effie hands me a silver dress and I slide it on.

"Oh it fits perfectly, it even matches your eyes" she gushes as she takes in the dress. I look down nervously, I've never worn anything as nice or expensive as this before. "Now let's fix your hair and then you'll be beautiful."

I sit down at the vanity while Effie quickly styles my hair into an intricate braided up-do. Once she has finished I turn around and hug her tightly.

"Thank you so much Effie" I whisper, "but I don't have any way of getting to the palace."

"Oh I'll have my other carriage take you, but make sure you are home by midnight, I heard word that your stepsisters will be leaving at that time."

I nod my extended thanks excitedly as I grip her hand tightly. "Thank you so much" I say as I make my way to the other carriage. I climb in and no sooner had the door shut then the carriage jolts to a start, I can't help the smile from spreading across my face.

My stomach twists nervously as I walk up the steps towards the palace entrance. I can hear the music and there is only a few stray people around as the ball has most likely already started. One of the guards directs me down the hall, my heeled shoes clicking against the marble floors as I make my way to the main room. I wobble slightly, not used to wearing such exasperating shoes.

I feel my eyes go wide at the sight of it all. The decorations and the long table of food are the first things that capture my attention, and quickly after that I notice the large amount of people. It seems everyone has created a large circle around the centre of the room where there are couples dancing. They spin in elegant circles as they hold onto each other.

I only ever wanted to attend the ball to escape the house and also experience the ball, I have never been to one before. I stand off to the side and scan the room. Eventually I spot my two step sisters as they cling to a large crowd giggling and whispering as they follow someone around. I only assume it is Prince Peeta. I spot the back of his blond hair as he talks animatedly to an older man. The giggling group of girls watch from my side of the room as they gush over him.

I can't seem to think what it is that everyone talks about, why all the girls fawn over him and talk about how they wish nothing than to be his wife. I have never actually seen Prince Peeta, in person, I have of course seen photos in the news. I am about to shuffle back from the crowd a little more when Prince Peeta turns, his eyes locking onto mine from across the room and suddenly it feels like every ounce of gravity has flown from my body. His eyes are a deep azure blue, and they capture mine, holding me in place as he stares.

I can't think, I can't speak, I don't even think i'm currently breathing. I am about to force my eyes to tear from his when the group of girls comes barging through my path, effectively knocking me to the ground and stepping on my fingers as they hurry towards him. I groan as I try to lift myself from the floor. The people around me keep dancing and talking, paying no attention to me.

"Are you okay?" I hear a voice. I look up for my spot on the floor and feel my eyes bulge as I see Prince Peeta standing above me.

"Um, yeah" I look around awkwardly. He leans down slightly and extends his hand. I grip it tightly as he pulls me up from the floor. I spy the group of girls over Peeta's shoulders giving me death glares, Glimmer and Clove amount them. They must not recognise me from this distance and because i'm not wearing my usual braid and rags.

I only now notice the closeness between Prince Peeta and I. I take a step back, looking around to find an out, I've never been good at talking. He picks up my hand from where it hangs limply at my side, he examines my fingers and it's only know I notice they are turning purple from all the girl's heels standing on them.

"It's fine, I've had worst" I blurt out, instantly regretting it as he looks at me curiously, his eyes wide and fearful. "I-I mean.." I sigh frustrated when I can't seem to think of the words to fit my sentence.

"Hey it's okay" he says, noticing my struggle. "Do you want to dance?" He nods his head towards the dance floor.

"Oh. Um, I can't really dance" I say quietly.

"Don't worry, I can't either, it's all in the fun." He pulls me towards where everyone else is dancing and reaches out to pull me closer to him. I feel his hand rest on my waist and the other he holds in his hand still.

"Everyone's staring" I murmur when I notice that almost everyone's head has turned in our direction.

"Relax" he whispers. "I just realised I don't even know your name."

"It's Katniss," I look up at him through my eyelashes.

"That's a beautiful name, it's a flower right?"

"Yes" I whisper, "well a root actually, or waterplant, but not many people know that." He pulls me closer and I find myself not minding. "Your beautiful you know that?"

I stare at him in shock and then slowly shake my head. "No...no i'm not, i'm-"

"Yes you are" he says almost fiercely, his eyes piercing into mine.

"Everyone always tells me i'm waste of space. That i'm plain and unprepossessing."

"Well their wrong, they're just jealous Katniss." He says, so determined to convince me.

I release I've revealed too much about my life to this practical stranger, but I can't seem to stop myself.

"Come" he says quickly, pulling me from the dance floor and into the entrance hall.

"Prince Peeta?" I ask in confusion.

"Don't call me that, please. Just Peeta is fine" he tells me. I nod as he pulls me close to him again. We continue to dance, the music drifting from the doors. The closeness of him is consuming, his scent is overwhelming and somehow comforts me. I want to so him what we are doing away from all the people but I don't, instead I stay quiet and rest my head against his chest as he pulls me closer again.

I don't know where these abrupt emotions are coming from within me, but it's not something i'm used to at all and I really don't know how to react. Peeta leans back slightly. Gazing at me with his blue eyes. I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out.

"I would very much like to kiss you, if you'll allow it" he whispers, leaning down closer to me.

"I've never been kissed before" I whisper, not sure what to think.

"Then I'll be your first, and you'll be mine" he confesses. I'm not sure what to think of this, surely Peeta has kissed someone before. I'm unsure of what to say in answer to his question, however the one thought that makes up my mind is that I will probably never meet another man who will want to kiss me.

"Okay" I murmur.

His face slowly moves closer to mine, as though he was giving me time to change my mind. Instead I stay; and as his lips press against mine my mind goes entirely blank, and at the same time it bursts with thoughts and emotions. His lips move against mine and I slide my hands up from his chest to around his neck, not being able to stop my eyes from fluttering closed.

It is the first chime of the bell that startles me and makes me jump away from the kiss. Peeta's eyes are wide as he looks at me in confusion.

The bell chimes again and I look up to see both hands on the large clock pointing upwards, directly towards the sky indicating midnight.

"I'm sorry" I say hurriedly as I start to back away.

"Wait!" He calls, "don't go!"

"I'm sorry but I have to, it's not you I promise, I just have to go" I say in a rush as I turn and flee down the stairs. I can hear Peeta calling after me hurriedly but I don't turn back, I can't. I jump into the carriage and it no sooner takes off down the long driveway. I turn in my seat and spy Peeta standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring after me hopelessly. I sit back in my seat, willing myself to forget about what happened, because i'm never going to see him again.

I get home just before Glimmer and Clove. I've managed to shower and have just gotten into my old working dress when I hear a commotion downstairs, signalling their arrival home. I make sure that I hide the sliver dress, I can't have them knowing I disputed their rules and attended the ball.

It's been four weeks since the palace ball, I haven't heard or seen anything from that day when I kissed the Prince. I would be lying if I said it hadn't affected me. It's one icy day whilst I am making lunch for my step family when I hear the footsteps behind me and I immediately freeze up.

"Katniss" I hear my stepmother say sharply.

I turn slowly, making sure to turn off the stove because I know this will end in no good, I can't risk leaving it on.

"Yes" I murmur quietly, wringing my hands together, careful not to look at her in the eye.

"Glimmer and Clove want wild berries, your required to go out into the woods and find some" she orders.

My eyes snap to hers instantly. "But, it's the middle of winter! I'll never find berries!" I protest.

"I don't care, your to leave now and don't even think about returning until you have a full basket."

I open my mouth in anger, I'll never return home if that's the case.

"Do you ever listen? I said go!" She snaps pointing to the kitchen door.

I hurry off and just as I reach the door I hear her sneer "it's no wonder your father never came home that day, a defiant child like you."

"Don't talk about my father like that!" I snap, "he was a good man, more than twice the person you will ever be." I feel the slap before I see her hand. The sting echoes across my cheek, spreading across my face with dreaded pain. I yelp out, jumping back and clutching at the side of my face desperately. I run away before she can do or say anything else. I'm up quick to grab my warmest coat and a basket from the pantry. The door clicks behind me as I stare out at the woods, this is going to end in disaster.

The wind is bitter, especially for winter and it spikes against my face as I search every bush in the woods for berries. But they are all frozen over. I search all through the day, my face and hands turning blue from the bitter cold. Once the sun starts to go down I decide I better go home, i'm never going to find anything and getting into trouble in the warmth of the house sounds better than staying out here all night.

The walk back to the house is brutal. The winds forcing my hair to billow around my head. I pull the hood of my coat up and wrap my arms around my body tightly, trying to hug some warmth into me. My cheek stings painfully, even now more so from the biting cold.

Once I see the warm glow of the kitchen window I almost sigh with relief at the thought of getting to warm up. However after I climb up the steps and turn the doorknob, the door only opens a millimetre before it jams. My feel my heart drop as I jiggle the door, trying desperately to open it. They've locked me out.

I walk around to the other doors but they are all the same, dead bolted from the inside. I check all the windows, each one is shut tightly and not budging. They've thought of everything possible to make sure i'm locked out indefinitely.

I feel my eyes water at the thought of having to spend all night outside. There's no use in trying to get heir attention, they will only taunt me further. I stumble across the yard until I fall to rest under a tree, curling my legs so that I can hug them tight to my body.

After about an hour the bitterness of the winter night is too much for my frail complexion to cope with. I need to keep moving. I stand up and wobble away from the house, I walk alongside the road, hoping that a carriage will come past and be kind enough to help me. However nothing comes, the road is deserted and I can only feel myself growing weaker with the winter bitterness swirling around me.

Is this how I shall die? Like my father, never return home, the whole of Panem confused by my sudden disappearance. No, I wouldn't make half the impact my father made, he was well liked and popular, just like me when I was a little girl with ribbons in my hair. Now however, i'm sure nobody remembers I exist. The ball was the first time since my father died that I actually left the house for something other than chores for my retched step family.

I feel my legs give out seconds before my weak body hit the floor. It doesn't help that I was already living off the bare minimum of food, and now with no lunch or dinner or shelter, i'm scared. And i'm allowed to admit that, I can't be strong all the time as much as I wish I could be. My determined and fiery personality died with my true family.

I see the headlights as they pass me, I hear a shout, blurred by the ringing in my ears as I press my face against the ground, desperate to just fall asleep, just for once to sleep without being tainted by raging nightmares.

The lights come back and then suddenly I feel someone at my side. Their hands on my face but I can't seem to force my eyes open. I feel their hand press against my cheek and I whimper at the pain. I hear a sharp intake of breath and feel gentle hands brush back my hair. I want to open my eyes, to see who it is that is helping me. I want to tell them that I've had worse than the harsh slap.

"Katniss" I hear a man whisper. At first I panic, how does this stranger know my name? But when he whispers it again, this time more pained, I recognise who it is. I want to say his name, call out to him and tell him I'll be okay, my mouth can't seem to form the words, frozen from the cold. I can only seem to manage stumbling over the first letter of his name.

"Shhh" he hushes me, his hand brushing against the good side of my face gently. "I'm going to help you."

I feel his hands slide under my back and knees and then i'm lifted up into his arms. My head falls against his chest and i'm consumed by his scent. It makes me feel safe immediately. I feel him cradle me against his chest as he sits in the carriage, stroking my hair and whispering in my ear, soothing words that make my blood warm up immediately.

"Your so cold" he whispers, his voice shakes as he wraps something around me tightly. A blanket, or maybe his own coat. I feel the carriage lurch and can only assume there is someone else controlling it since Peeta certainly is not as he hold me close to him.

I want to open my eyes but i'm too tired, the weight of everything that has happened pulls me under and suddenly I can't even think, I just fall into a sleep, praying I don't wake up from my night terrors.

When I come to, my face is buried in soft plush furs, a heavy warmth covers my body, my whole body seems warm, except for my cheek, were the skin throbs and feels as though it is pulled tight. I blink my eyes open and get a shock when I don't recognise the room i'm in. This is not my basement bedroom, it's bursting with sunlight, the bed i'm in is twice the size of my own and gold decorates the room everywhere, making the warmth seem more real and it shoots through my body.

"Hey, your awake" I hear a voice behind me. I look up startled, and relaxing only a tiny bit when I see Peeta standing in front of me as he comes and sits down on the edge of the bed.

I'm confused at first, and then everything starts to come back in patches of memory. His voice, him carrying me and cradling my to his chest as he attempts to spread some warmth back into my frozen body.

"What am I doing here?" I ask, my voice is croaky and I bring a hand up to my throat as I feel it spread with dry pain.

"I'll get you some water" he says, walking briskly from the room before I returning with a glass of crystal clear water. I let the cool liquid slide smoothly down my throat, welcoming the quench to my thirst.

"Thank you" I rasp. He shakes his head.

"Katniss what were you thinking? Being out that late at night in the dead of winter?"

"I was locked out" I murmur, looking down at the empty glass in my hands.

I feel Peeta's hands cover my own and he slowly uncle chest my hands from their death grip and gently places the glass on the bedside table.

"What do you mean you were locked out?" He asks, his eyebrows furrowing.

"My step mother and sisters, they sent me out into the woods to find berries and then locked me out." I explain quietly, suddenly feeling angry at their evil ministrations.

"What?" His face drops, utterly shocked. "They did that to you?"

"It's normal behaviour for them."

"And this?" He asks softy, his hand reaching out to gently touch my bruised cheek.

"That was for talking back" I whisper. I watch his eyes fill with unshed tears as he stares at the side of my face. It can't be that bad can it? Maybe it looks as bad as it feels. I look away from him, I don't know how to deal with emotions.

"Where are your parents Katniss?" Peeta asks quietly, as though he knows the answer.

"My mother, she died when I was younger and my father disappeared a while ago, just never came home from work. Nobody knows what actually happened."

Before I can say anything else i'm being pulled into his arms as he hugs me tightly.

"Is that why you ran away, the night of the ball?" He whispers.

"Yeah, I had to be home just after midnight. I'm sorry about that by the way."

"It's no problem, I understand, really." He assures me. "You must be hungry, did you want something to eat?"

"Um yeah, if it's not an inconvenience..." I say awkwardly.

"Why would it be an inconvenience?" He chuckles as he gets up and hands me a stack of clothes. "Um your dress was pretty ruined, you can wear these if you like. They are the smallest I have."

I thank him as he leaves the room and I slide out from under the covers, only now noticing that I am wearing one of Peeta's shirts. I feel my face heat up at the thought of him undressing me. I walk over to the mirror hanging on the wall and gasp when I see the large purple and yellow bruise spreading across the side of my face. The skin is swollen and looks as painful as it feels. I tear my eyes away, not able to look at it any longer.

I pull on the tracksuit pants and shirt Peeta gave me. I have to roll the pants up at the bottom and pull the drawstring tight, but other than that I can't help the thought that they are incredibly comfortable and smell exactly like Peeta.

I walk down out the bedroom door and am already lost. There are three different staircases leading down and two leading up. I look at all five of them and wonder which one Peeta went down. I am just about to go for the one on my left when I see Peeta emerge from the middle one.

"They look better on you then they ever did on me" he smiles and I feel my face heat again. "Come on, I made us breakfast."

"I should get going" I say, pushing back from the table.

"What?" His face is shocked as he stands up too. "Your not going back home."

"Why not?" I protest, crossing my arms.

"It's not safe, look what they did to you" he waves his hand in my direction.

"Peeta I have to go back" I say backing away until my back hits the wall behind me.

"No you don't" he says, stepping closer to me until he's standing right in front of me. I can see the different shades of blue swirling in his eyes.

"I have nowhere else to go, Peeta."

"Stay here, with me." His hands come up to frame my face.

"I can't, Peeta" I shake my head softly.

"Yes, yes you can. I want you to, I want you, I haven't stopped thinking about you since the ball."

"Why?" I whisper, "why me?"

"Don't you understand?" He whispers back fiercely.

I shake my head. "You don't really want me Peeta. I mean, look at me." I laugh sadly through my tears.

"Your so beautiful though."

"I should go" I murmur. His face falls but he nods slowly.

"I'll take you back. Just in case."

The ride home is silent. Peeta and I sit in the carriage while the driver sits on the outside, directing the horses.

"The night of the ball, you weren't supposed to be there were you?" He asks softly.

I shake my head, "no...I snuck out. I just needed to see for myself...I just...I..." I sigh angrily into my hands as I struggle to explain it. I feel his hand reach over and rest on my knee. Its all I need to calm down.

When we pull up out the front of the house, the atmosphere between us changes immediately. I glance out the window at the deadly silent house. I know Peeta can feel the same thing, my step family are angry.

"I'll wait, just in case" he says. "And don't try to protest, it's not going to work."

I nod because I really don't want him to go yet. Just in case.

I open the door slightly but it slams shut when Peeta pulls on my arm, swinging me around and pressing his lips against mine. I'm frozen with shock at first, but then my lips start to move against his of their own accord. My hands are in his hair, curled against his chest as everything is suddenly uncontrollable. His lips part against mine and its unlike anything I've ever felt before. His hands are everywhere, sliding around me and pulling me flush against him. I pull away when I need a breath.

"I had to do that" he whispers. I take a deep breath trying to register everything and channel the energy racing between us, before I reach up around his neck and pull his lips back to mine. His mouth opens against mine and its more passionate than anything I've ever felt before.

"I have to go" I breath against his lips, his nods and kisses me once more, this once quick and chaste.

I open the door and look at him once last time before I step down from the carriage and wave goodbye to the driver nervously. I find the front door open when I turn the doorknob. I haven't even gotten to shut the door before someone reaches out and pulls on my arm roughly, slamming me against the wall, a strong arm pressed against my throat dangerously.

I hear Peeta scream out and the sound of the carriage door banging as he attempts to open it. It must have jammed.

I look up into the face of the person pinning me to the wall. I don't recognise this man. He is tall, much taller than me and his arms are like tree trunks as they effectively block my airway. I grab at his arm, trying to pull it off me.

"Katniss dear" I hear my stepmothers evil voice sneer.

"Would you like to explain where you have been this whole time, and why you returned with no berries?"

I open my mouth to explain but the tight hold on my throat causes me to only whimper as I grab at the unknown man's arm.

"Katniss!" I hear Peeta's strangled voice call out from the doorway. His face full of anger and shock.

"Well if it isn't the prince" she smirks.

I hear myself gasp as I struggle for air.

"Please" Peeta begs, pain and panic flooding his voice as he stares at me in anguish.

"So you've been acting frivolous with the prince have you?" She addresses me. "I thought I told you to go find berries."

"I did" I rasp, "there were none."

"Please" she scoffs.

"Let her go" Peeta begs.

My eyes flick between him and my mother as they stare each other down.

"Okay" she says, almost too easily. It only makes me suspicious.

The man lets me go and I immediately slump against the wall, falling into Peeta's arms as he darts forward and I gasp for air. Once I have composed myself enough I stand up, Peeta's arm stays wrapped around my waist though.

"Your not staying here" he whispers in my ear. I nod because that previous event not only scared me slightly but also confused me immensely. I take his hand and pull him past the prying eyes of my step mother and the strange man as I lead him to my basement bedroom.

"This is your room?" He asks, his voice pained as he looks at my shabby room. I nod as I gather up the few possessions I have left. My mothers locket included.

I look around, realising that I'm not going to miss this place at all.

"Come on" I mutter, leading him back up the stairs.

"Oh my, it's the prince" I hear an excited giggle. I turn and glare at Glimmer.

I see Clove emerge from the side room, her face lighting up.

"You must be here for one of us, there's no way you would be here to ask poor Katniss to marry you, I mean look at her" she scoffs.

"Um actually, I am here for Katniss" he says awkwardly.

Just to prove that he's mine and they can't have him, I reach out and take his hand, tucking myself against his side. I don't know where it came from, I've never been this type of girl but suddenly I feel the need to let them know that Peeta doesn't want them.

They stare at us shocked, their eyes flitting quickly between our faces and our joined hands.

"Lets go" I mutter and pull Peeta along, I can practically hear the shocked emotions raging out of my step sisters.

We pass my stepmother and the man on our way out, I feel like snapping something rude at her but I know that will get me nowhere in life. Instead I walk right past her, chin held high as though everything she did never affected me. I couldn't be more wrong.

There's something comforting about the thought of staying with Peeta. I don't know if it's because he has a calming element to his disposition. Or if it's simply just me being able to recognise the fact that I don't have to see my horrible step family again. At least not at this point of time.

Peeta has been nothing but kind to me ever since I came to live with him. His family, while his mother is a little on the rough side, have being exceedingly welcoming. His younger brother, it seems, has taken up a particular interest in teasing us, letting us know at every opportunity that we are so cute together and that we should make some babies. A totally inappropriate topic to bring up, especially in this day and age.

It's four weeks after I've been living here when I first wake up from a horrifying nightmare. I've been having small nightmares, but never ones to this degree. Never ones that makes me wake up screaming, covered in sweat and crying for my dead parents. Never one that makes Peeta come running into my room, panic draw across his face as the door slams open.

"I'm sorry" I gasp through my tears. "It was just as dream."

"Hey no it's okay" he says as he comes over and brushes some hair back from my face. "Are you okay now?" He asks softly.

I shake my head, "can you stay with me?" I hate that my voice sounds so small, but it's all I can do not to completely break down.

"Yeah of course," he climbs under the covers and I curl up against his side. "Always" he murmurs as he kisses my hair softly.

"I love you" I murmur, and the freeze. I hadn't meant for it to come out, it was just something I had been thinking about over the past few weeks.

I feel his breathing hitch and then it goes back to normal. "I love you too, you know," I can practically hear the smile in his voice and suddenly I realise that this is right. Nothing else seems to ever be, but we are.

I close my eyes and within seconds I am back asleep, this time dreaming of a future, a future of a meadow and dandelions, and two children playing in the sunshine. One with blond hair and the other with a long dark braid; and when I look down, the sun catches on my wedding ring as it sparkles in the sun.

And nothing else has ever felt so right.

So this was the first one-shot I've ever done. Let me know what you thought and if you guys would like more one-shots to come in the future... They might improve overtime...hopefully.

Let me know!


	2. The Little Match Girl

**The Little Match Girl**

This story is based loosely off the fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, I only own some of the ideas. I don't own the characters.

Warning: please read on your own volition, may possibly be confronting to some people.

It was the last week of the year and the bitter coldness seemed to seep through every crevice and crack in the buildings which were scattered around the small town of Panem. The snow settled on the ground, leaving tracks of footprints where people had previously walked. It was a particularly cold night when Katniss traipsed across the icy cold snow. The wind causing the hair in her now loose braid to billow around her head. The streets were empty, everyone it seemed was inside enjoying the warmth and the roast foods signifying the end of another year. For Katniss the end of the year only meant one more year of having survived the suffering and hardship. But she never complained, she was a stoic person, not one to moan about the life she was granted, even if it wasn't something she particularly cared for.

That not to say she never looked through the windows of the houses, their warm, golden light reflecting a sort of halo around the food laid out on the large mahogany tables. Katniss looked at them in pure longing, longing for a life with people she loves and warmth and food. Instead the only possessions she owned were her ratty, long sleeved dress, a handful of matches and her shoes. That's if you can even call them shoes. They had so many holes in them they barely even prevented the snow from soaking her toes.

She had been trying desperately to sell the matches, but nobody had any need to buy some, they all had their own, stowed away high in the cupboards of their houses. She sometimes likes to sit, huddled in the corner of two houses conjoining, and idealise her perfect reality, hot food and a bed to sleep in, people surrounding her who loved and cared. Not alone, cold and useless on the streets in the dead of winter.

One night after a hopeless day of attempting to sell some matches; she stumbled across the road, having to jump quickly out of the way of a fast moving carriage, laden with gold linings and expensive, intricate paintings along the side. In doing so her loose shoes fell from her feet, one being picked up in the wheels of the carriage and the other now sat in the hands of a boy around her age.

Just as he starts to walk off with her shoe in hand, Katniss calls out "hey!" trying to run after him but her legs are too weak and the boy soon runs off with her shoe. Katniss looks down at her feet, now blooming with blue and purple spots, frozen from the snow on her bare feet.

"Hey."

Katniss spins around at the sound of his voice. Her eyebrows furrow as she spies the blond boy standing a few feet away from her.

"W-what d-do you want?" Her voice shakes from the bitter cold.

The boy holds out a steady hand, a hearty loaf of bread rests in his palm as he attempts to give it to her.

"W-why are you giving that to me?" She asks, curling her hands around each other nervously.

"To help you" he whispers.

"Peeta!" An angry voice calls out. The boy's head snaps up as he looks around frantically.

"Quick, take it and run" he shoves the still warm loaf of bread into her hands and runs off, turning around mid-step to quickly wave before he disappears behind a corner of a building.

Katniss' eyes are wide in disbelief as she stares after the boy, Peeta she thinks his name was. Was he going to get into trouble for giving her food, that woman didn't sound too happy.

Before she can think of it any further, she turns and runs off, her bare feet now numb from the snow. After finally returning to her dark corner in at the end of the alleyway, she huddled up with her knees under the dress, trying desperately to keep some warmth. She tore off a chunk of the bread and steam rose up into the night sky. She sighed with disbelief. Had this boy really just handed over a warm loaf of bread, bread from the merchants side of town?

After devouring a small portion of the loaf, Katniss decides it's probably best to save the bread and make it last as long as possible, it was, after all, the only thing she had that was of any real use to her.

That night was a brutal one, the cold winter air made it impossible to have even one of your smallest toes warm. But the thought that the boy had made a conscious effort to make her night a little more bearable, made Katniss smile a real smile, for the first time in years.

It wasn't until a week later that Katniss saw the boy again. In all of her sixteen years, nobody had ever been this kind to her. At least not since her family all passed away. It's was nighttime again, the snow falling quickly and settling on the ground, burning her bare feet it was that cold.

Katniss was huddled in her usual corner when the boy walked past, stopping and then doubling back to look at her clearly.

"Hi" he murmured, walking over to her and crouching down so they were eye level with each other.

"Hello" she whispered, her voice corse and rough from the flu she thought she was obtaining.

"Would you...would you like my coat?" He asks, shrugging off his large, furry coat and holding it out to her. It was an awfully nice coat, expensive she was sure of it.

She shakes her head, tears welling in her eyes at how much she desperately wants to say yes, but she can't. "I'm sorry" she gasps, shaking her head further, "I can't."

"Sure you can" he says, draping the coat over her shoulders. The warmth is instant, the coat blocks out the wind and the snow, heating her body. That's not to mention how good it smelled, like the fresh bread he had previously given to her and vanilla.

"Why" she whispered, looking down at her dirty hands. "Why would you give this to me, and the bread?"

"Because, it's not fair that I should have so much and you so little. I would do more to help...but my mother, she disapproves of everything."

"No" she shakes her head adamantly; "this is too much already."

"Please don't cry" he begs, reaching out a hand towards her before he thinks better of it and withdraws it. "What's your name?" He asks softly.

"Katniss" she whispers.

"That's a beautiful name, i'm Peeta."

She smiles to herself and nods softly, not knowing what to say in response to his compliment.

"How old are you? I'm nearly seventeen."

She looks up at him through her eyelashes. "Sixteen" she murmurs, twisting her hands together nervously.

A bell rings from the town square, signalling midnight, Peeta looks up at the sky.

"I have to go, but I'll be back, I promise." He calls out as he stand up from the ground.

"Okay" she says, not believing him, all merchant people are the same, discarding of those lower class people, the class Katniss was definitely categorised into.

She watches as Peeta runs down the street before pulling the coat tightly around her, revelling in its warmth and heavenly scent. This time when she closes her eyes, instead of nightmares she dreams of the time when her parents and little sister were still alive, when they were poor but had a house, when she was at least surrounded by family and people who cared.

The next day Katniss sets out with her small basket of matches, hoping that with her merchant coat on, someone might consider buying a few. The day passes but everyone that she offers turns her down. Some people politely tell her they don't need matches; though most are imperious and stubbornly refuse to even touch something that's come from the hands of a homeless girl.

Tears well in her eyes as the day starts to pull to a close. That is until she hears a voice call out to her, she spins eyeing the boy about her age walking towards her.

"I'll buy one" he says.

Katniss sniffs back the tears and smiles shyly at him. "Really?" She asks.

"Yeah" he nods.

Katniss reaches into her basket and pulls out a match, extending it out towards him.

"They're twenty cents, how many would you like?"

"Can I see how many you have?" He asks, peering over to look in the basket she is carrying. Before she can answer, he is quick to reach out and snatch a handful before turning and running away.

"Hey!" She calls out, running after him, "give them back!" But the boy just smirks over his shoulder at her before he continues running. Katniss follows but has no sooner begun to ignore the bitter cold snow hitting her feet before she slips, falling forward and bracing herself as she slides to the ground, crying out in pain and frustration.

She looks up from the ground just to catch sight of the boy disappearing into the distance. She curls her fingers into the snow, squeezing the handfuls tightly in an attempt to get rid of some of the pent up frustration. She buries her head into the arm of the coat and screams out, wanting nothing more than to just disappear and never come back, too weak to get up from the ground.

"Please" she sobs, her body racking with the tears which were now freely falling, each one dropping onto the snow and sinking into the icy surface. "Please..."

Peeta recognises his coat immediately as he sees it lying in the snow across the other side of the town square. At first he's confused, he knew he had given it to the beautiful girl by the name of Katniss, that is until he sees her dark braid and frail arms and legs. Fear courses through him as he realises she is lying on the ground and not moving.

It takes his body a moment to catch up with his brain and he stands frozen in shock. It's not until a group of town people walk right past her, some stepping on her fingers, not even caring in the slightest, that the anger and grief sets in.

He runs over to her, crouching down and gently turning her over so she is lying on her back. Her face is pale and her cheeks and lips blue from the deathly cold. Please don't be dead, he silently begs. He checks her pulse and sighs with relief when he feels her heartbeat. It's erratic and far too jumpy to be normal, but at least it's still beating. He sees her little basket of dwelling matches lying next to her. Careful not to hurt her, he scoops her up into his arms and carries her back to the shed behind her house, praying that his mother or father don't come out and see her.

After laying her down on the straw bale, he sits down and watches her silently. Some may think it's creepy and weird, but Peeta had never seen a girl so beautiful before in his life. His heart tears into a million pieces at the thought of her sleeping out in the snow, but he has to accept the fact that at the moment, there is nothing he can do. At least not until he turns eighteen and can afford to get his own house, that was still a long, long way off.

When Katniss begins to stir he jumps, startled. He had been so lost in his thoughts. He watches as she blinks before sitting up with a start, looking around frantically.

"Hey it's okay" he says quickly as he reaches out and places a gentle hand on her arm.

She stares at him, her eyes wide with shock. "Where am I?" She asks him, her voice is corse from either sleep or she's getting sick.

"In the shed behind my house, I couldn't leave you there, i'm sorry, but I just couldn't." He tries his best to explain it to her without sounding like some creep who had been stalking her or something ridiculous like that.

"It's okay" she murmurs quietly, "I should go though, thank you Peeta" she says, sliding off the straw bale and stumbling to the doorway.

"Wait!" He calls out, reaching out a hand towards her as he stands up. She turns around at the doorway, waiting for him to continue. "Can I see you again?"

"I don't think that's a good idea Peeta" she whispers. "You can have your coat back if you want?"

"No! You keep it" he insists before she nods quietly and turns around. He watches her leave, a horrible feeling gnaws at his stomach as she disappears from sight. That night, his mother seems to be extra filthy about the less fortunate. They were all eating dinner, though Peeta just pushed his food around his plate with his fork. He couldn't seem to stomach food, knowing Katniss was probably out there starving.

"Peeta!" His mother snaps. He looks up from his plate to see everyone staring at him. His parents and his two older brothers.

"Yes" he answers quietly.

"I said..." she says, annoyed that he wasn't paying attention to her; "never you go around being frivolous with those Seam homeless people, their filthy! They cause nothing but utter havoc! Do you hear me?" She snaps.

"Uh, yes mother" he says, trying desperately not to think of Katniss so his face doesn't betray his lie.

"Good" she says, her face passive as she goes back to eating her dinner.

Peeta pushes his chair back from the table, it screeches against the floor but he ignores the stares he gets.

"I'm not hungry" he mutters before storming upstairs. He walks over to his bedroom window, looking out over the town square, all lit up by the twinkling lights and white snow.

"Where are you Katniss?" He wishes softly, looking out over the silent town.

The next week Katniss didn't see nor hear from Peeta, her first instinct is to feel disheartened and sad, she can't help those feelings from rising to the surface of her mind. But she knows she was the one who pushed the kind boy away. And she was missing him. It was stupid, she barely even knew him, but kind people were often extremely hard to come across.

The week after, however, Katniss knew he was looking for her. She would often see him aimlessly wandering the town streets or standing by the corner where she always used to sit and sleep. As much as she desperately wanted to go and talk to him, she stayed hidden from view, watching him from afar. She didn't want to burden him with her plethora of problems. One of which was the fact that she had gotten extremely sick. Each breath was a heavy and exaggerated heave as her throat burns. Her head is constantly pounding with a headache so extreme she thinks her brain may possibly be on fire. She knows it's not healthy, especially in her normal state of being.

She was on the verge of death, and that alone was enough to make sure Peeta stayed away. And while Katniss thought the idea of death wasn't terrible -she would get to see her family again after all- she couldn't help but be scared.

Her sickness only gets worse and still she avoids Peeta as he sits by her corner, everyday. Katniss contemplates going and talking to him, the poor guy was sitting out in the snow everyday for the past two weeks and still she has only watched from afar.

It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to him, god did she want to, but she couldn't risk it. No, this was for the best. Peeta didn't need to be getting involved in her horrible business, it simply wasn't fair to him.

It was three weeks after she had last spoken to Peeta that Katniss finally couldn't take it anymore. She watched from afar as Peeta sat in her corner yet again. She could barely breathe due to her flu which had suddenly taken a terrible turn and was now making it incredibly difficult for her to breath and stand up straight.

She couldn't deal with watching Peeta's face fall every night as he realised she wasn't going to show up, walking away with his head down and hands in his pockets.

"Your still here" she breathed out softly, barely audible. Slowly, Katniss walked forward towards where Peeta was sitting in the snow, shaking. She only now realises how desperately cold he must have been, sitting here every night for the past three weeks. Exactly how she felt every night, it's a tenuous link but Katniss still felt like something had changed in the air as she approached him quietly.

"Your still here" she repeats, this time louder and within hearing distance of Peeta. His head snaps up as he stares at her. The moment is silence as they both stare at each other, until eventually he stands up and takes two long strides until he is standing directly in front of her.

"I thought" he gasps, "I thought you were dead. I mean, I know you told me to stay away but I couldn't help it, and then I never saw you and...I just thought..." He trails off mindlessly.

Katniss shakes her head, disagreeing with him. "I never didn't want to see you" she croaks. "It was for the best."

"Katniss..." Peeta whispers desperately, his face full of horror at the sound of her voice and how obviously sick she is.

"I'm fine Peeta" she protests.

"No! No your not" he almost yells, angry that he had been so foolish as to let her get this sick.

"Peeta please, there's nothing you can do" she begs.

"Katniss" he murmurs, stepping closer to her.

"Why are you here Peeta? Why are you here every night?"

"Because" he whispers, leaning closer to her yet again. It takes a moment for his motives to set in, but eventually Katniss realises what he is implying and she takes a small step back, still looking him in the eye.

"Peeta, no, you can't possibly..." She stutters confused.

"Please" he begs, stepping closer to her again.

"I don't know.."

"Katniss, stop holding back, I know you feel it too" he whispers.

He was right. She did feel it, the electricity between them right now was so intense, and the fact that no matter what; her mind always ran back to him.

She tilts her head up slightly towards him, indicating towards her yes.

"But i'm sick right now" she whispers as a last minute procrastination.

"I don't care" he murmurs before his lips are on hers in a fiery kiss. It startles Katniss so much she has to reach out and grip his shoulders to stop her now jelly-like legs from collapsing out from under her. She has never been kissed before, and at first the sensation is strange, but soon she lets herself relax and there's nothing else she could possibly want more in that moment.

When they finally break apart it seems Katniss has stopped breathing all together. Eventually she remembers it's essential to life and inhales a deep breath of the wintery air.

Peeta smiles shyly at her and she can't help but replicate it. "I'd like to see you again" he says.

"Okay" she whispers.

"So you'll allow it?"

"I'll allow it" she smiles at him.

"Katniss, I hope you know I'll do everything in my power to help you" he implores, reaching out to take her hand.

"Peeta you don't have to" she shakes her head persistently.

"I know, but I want to, I'll see you soon okay." He says starting to walk away, waving at her softly.

She waves back, unable to contain the smile on her face as she makes her way to her corner, hoping she really will see him soon.

The weeks following were one's Katniss will never, ever forget. Her and Peeta spent a vast amount of their time together and he always brought her something. She now had shoes for her cold feet, a scarf, gloves and a warm hat to accompany her coat. Peeta is nothing but nice to her, always sneaking her fresh bread. Slowly, with Peeta's help she began to feel better, her sickness edging away.

Katniss understands why Peeta can't let her stay at his house, his mother would surely have a fit, and that will only end in tears and heartbreak. So they spend all of their time together outside in the snow, talking and getting to know each other, Peeta was someone Katniss would trust with her whole heart and life. Peeta had just taken her to a meadow just outside of town, the lush grass spread across the clearing, right up to the sparkling, silvery surface of the lake. The grass was dotted with the blooming dandelions, Katniss had thought it was magical. A beautiful touch to the deplorable life she lived.

It was on this particular day that her life took a definite turn for the worst.

"I'll see you soon, okay" Peeta murmurs as they stand at the spot where they must part ways. Katniss nods her head softly as he pulls her in for a hug. She holds onto him tightly, burying her face in his chest and inhaling his calming scent, it made her feel safe. He pulls back slightly and leans down to kiss her. Katniss closes her eyes and makes the most of the moment, gripping onto him with everything she has.

"I'll meet you back here tomorrow?" Peeta questions. She nods her head as he leans down to kiss her forehead softly. She waves to him as he retreats, before making her way to corner in the alleyway.

The next day Katniss waits for Peeta at their spot. One hour passes, then two and soon enough nightfall is upon her and she wipes her tears and sobs away as she stumbles back to her corner. He must have just been held up, he wouldn't just abandon her like that.

But for the next week Katniss waits all day in their spot, still she doesn't even see him. The second week following is quite possibly the worst week of her entire life. It's the coldest week so far this winter and Katniss manages to obtain a deadly cough, it seizes up her entire chest and head every five minutes as she pauses to rack her lungs out.

One day when she is in town, trying profoundly to sell her little basket of matches, she realises that it is a lost cause. She is just about to give up when she feels someone grab her from behind. She startles and yelps out as she spins around to see the same boy who stole her matches last time.

"What are you doing with all these fancy merchant clothes huh?" He sneers tugging on her scarf.

"That's none of your business" she snaps.

"Oh I think it is." He reaches out and pulls the hat from her head, allowing her loose hair to be swept up in the wind.

"Give that back" she swipes at the hat which he is dangling tauntingly high above her head.

Before she can do anything else someone else pulls her scarf off and then seizes her hands and rips the gloves off, tearing one of the fingers in the process.

"Stop it!" She screams. Nobody walking through town stops to help her and the boys push her to the ground and wrestle the coat and shoes off her.

"Please! Please give them back!" She cries out as they run off with the warm clothes Peeta had given her.

But she's too weak to chase after them, especially when she knows she will never catch them. Now she has nothing left of Peeta's, nothing to remind her of his scent and warmth and kindness. She still doesn't understand why he suddenly disappeared just over a week ago, but it seems like the hardest week and a half she has ever endured.

Now, left cold, lonely and incredibly sick, Katniss fears she has nothing left to live for. She had managed to convince herself that Peeta had finally seen her for who she truly is and realised she had nothing to give back to him for all his kindness.

The next few days we utterly horrendous. When Katniss was finally able to ignore the harsh biting of the snow against her bare feet, which were now swollen and purple, she would finally be able to get a small amount of restless sleep. Only she would constantly be woken by rounds of extreme coughing, each one striking her chest hard and causing her to wheeze and her head to pound. She felt like she was about to explode.

The days and nights were getting colder as the weather approached the middle of winter. Each day was a struggle and Katniss felt like everyone in the world had suddenly given up hope on her, herself included. Each day, Katniss went to the town square in an attempt to sell the few matches she had left after the cruel boy stole most of them from her. However the people just brushed her off, the same as always, not even realising how twenty cents could make the world of difference.

After a long and earth shatteringly cold day, Katniss felt like she wasn't even existing anymore. Sure her body was still there, but consciously she had no idea where she was. She stumbled through the town as night fell, not knowing for sure where exactly she was going. Her feet were killing her as they were now completely swollen to twice their normal size from the cold, the circulation almost completely cut off as they turn a deeper purple by the day.

Eventually she could go no further as she fell to a heap on the ground against the wall of the bakery, right underneath the window. Katniss' stomach growled insistently as the scent of freshly baked bread wafted out of the door as a customer left the building.

Shivering uncontrollably in her flimsy dress, Katniss curls up against the wall and sobs. Why does her life have to be like this? Knowing deep down that nobody will ever buy a match from her, Katniss takes one from the basket and strikes it against the wall. The match flares to life, the orange fire instantly reaching out towards her and heating up her frail hands. She imagines sitting on a soft carpet, right next to the hearth where a fire is blazing. She bares her hands and feet to the flames which dance in front of her.

The flame flickers out as a gust of wind comes swirling through the street. Katniss opens her eyes and strikes another match, this time imagining a hot roast laid out upon a shining wooden table, the whole tabletop full of delicious food. Katniss peers through the bakery window and spies a man loading up the glass cabinet with fresh bread, steam still rising from the newly baked rolls.

The match flickers out again and this time Katniss was desperate to feel something other than the pain and desperation which currently flowed through her. She reached out a shaky hand and grabbed the rest of the matches as she struck them all on the wall at once, making them all blaze and instantly warming her hands.

Katniss closed her eyes as she shivered and shook uncontrollably, her mind was blank as the world started to spin. She felt a pain in her chest and her hair billowed around her head like a halo as she slid sideways from leaning against the wall, to lying on her side in the snow. She clutches the now burnt out matches to her tightly, desperate to have some form of reality still with her. She blinked her eyes open slowly as she looked at the blurry world, it seems everything she thought or did was in slow motion. And then she saw them, her family.

"Mother? Father?" She croaked out weakly as they stepped towards her, except they weren't on the ground, they were walking in mid air. "Prim?" She felt tears prick her eyes as she saw her little sister for the first time in years.

"Katniss" Prim whispers, her voice echoing.

"Don't be afraid darling" her father says, "don't be."

"I'm not" Katniss weeps as tears slide from her eyes and drop down the side of her face into the snow. "I'm not" she says softly and then it was as if everything disappeared, and her family and twinkling lights were the only thing Katniss could see anymore.

After nearly two weeks of being completely house bound. Peeta was eager to finally go and see Katniss. His mother had found out about him stealing food from the bakery, thankfully she didn't know where he was taking it but it was enough to land him ten days of being completely house bound. He worried about Katniss for all ten days, constantly thinking about her and praying that she would forgive him and understand why he couldn't see her.

On the day when he was finally free from the house restraints, he walks downstairs into the bakery expecting to see his two brothers and parents sitting in various spots and working as usual. However today the house is eerily quiet. He calls out but nobody answers.

He is about to give up wondering when he hears voices.

"The shame upon our family!" It was his mother, "this will destroy the bakery's business!" She snaps.

"Calm down, this is not the time or place for such comments, the girl has died!" His father replies grief stricken.

Peeta feels his feet moving forward towards the sound of the voices. As he gets closer he notices other sounds as well, sobbing and crying. Despaired voices full of horror and shock.

Peeta's hand slowly reaches out for the doorknob, he isn't sure if this is something he wants to witness, but his instincts win as he flings the front door of the bakery open. Stepping out into the cold, frosty morning it takes a moment for him to register what has managed to form the big semi-circle of people surround the front of the bakery. His eyes roam over everything until finally he catches sight of a lock of dark brown hair, a vivid contrast against the white snow. Slowly, he steps around his mother and father as they both stare at him, utterly horrified.

He feels his lower lip tremble as he catches sight of her. No. No it can't be! Please no don't let it be her! He silently begs towards the sky. However a second glance and he knows that the girl lying against the snow and clutching blackened matches to her chest, is in fact he girl he was sure he was in love with. Her face pale, sullen and blue. Her eyes are closed and a lock of her hair falls across her face, blowing around gently in the wind.

"No!" His voice wavers with unshed tears. He ignores his parents looks of confusion as he falls to his knees in the snow next to her head. He reaches up and lifts the top half of her body off the ground, cradling her head against his chest as he cries out in despair. "No!" He screams as tears fall from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry Katniss" he sobs into her hair, "i'm so sorry I couldn't save you." He wails as he holds her tightly against him not willing to ever let go of her again. At least not in his memories, he thinks as his body wracks with uncontrollable sobs for the girl who changed his life forever.

So there's the second one shot, I hope you guys liked it, let me know anyways. Also if you have any requests for one shots feel free to let me know, whether it's via comments or message :)

If you wish to read some of my other works you can go check out my profile on Wattpad, my username is Staywithme_always.


	3. Night

Warning: war themes

Prologue

"Come home" I beg, wrapping my arms around him tightly, my fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. I inhale deeply, his scent overwhelming me and causing tears to spring unfaithfully into my eyes. His silent answer irks me, his arms pull me closer, speaking the words he so desperately wishes he didn't have to say. "Promise" I urge, my voice muffled from, where my face in pressed into his chest. "Please."

"I...Katniss" he sighs, pulling away slightly but I clutch him closer to me.

"Please" I beg again.

"I promise, always" his voice wavers and I know he has tears in his eyes. An alarm comes over the speaker, calling out for all Marine officers to deport to the gate. But we don't move from each other's embrace, not even a little.

"Mellark!" I hear one of the men call out. "We're waiting on you."

Peeta pulls away, his a hands reach up to frame my face, his thumbs wiping the tears from my cheeks. "Don't cry, your too beautiful to cry" he whispers.

I choke out a laugh, of course at the worst time he still is overly sweet. I shake my head and reach up to kiss him. I pull his face down to mine as we kiss goodbye. A goodbye which I have no idea how long will last.

"Mellark!"

Peeta pulls away, resting his forehead against mine. His hand twines with mine as he starts to walk away.

"Come home to me" I cry, holding onto his hand for as long as I can.

"I will, I promise you" he murmurs, just as our last fingers loose touch. I watch him disappear through the gate, my heart pounding, seemingly haunted as the thought that I may never see him again fills my head.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Peeta)

Fire and ashes, they are the only things I can see for miles. Corpses thrown haphazardly into piles as I stumble through the hazy night. I can hear gunshots back in the distance as the smoke rises through the sky, the darkness only lit by the blazing flames. I think about giving up, like I have so many other times. But I know I can't. I just need to take one look at the photo to know exactly why I can't give up. Katniss is waiting for me at home, we haven't spoken since I was first enlisted and left the airport, leaving her back in Panem. I feel my stomach churn as I look out over the field, now burnt and broken. I turn around, my body shaking and my breaths laboured as I stumble after our group.

When we finally make it back to camp I head straight for my tent, not wanting anything more than to be alone right now to think, hope. I lay down on the flimsy, makeshift bed, the blankets crinkling under me as I pull the photo from my top pocket. Her smile is contagious, I can't help the sad smile from spreading across my face at the sight of it. This photo was taken of us half a year ago at Prim's 20th birthday party. We have our arms around each other, Katniss is smiling at the camera but my gaze is fixed on her, pure adoration etched deeply on my face.

"She's beautiful" I hear a voice say quietly. I nod not taking my gaze off Katniss. "Have you written to her?"

I turn to face Finnick, confused. "You can send letters from here?" I ask.

"Yeah, I've been sending Annie letters the whole time."

I only now realise this is true. Almost every night Finnick sits down at the small desk in our shared tent and writes. "You can use my pen's and paper if you want to write to her, I hear you talking in your sleep at night. You must really miss her." He murmurs.

I nod my head, glancing back to the photo of a time when we were happy and didn't have a care in the world. We've been together for nearly two years, I can still remember the night we met as though it were yesterday. She had been interviewing me for her new article for the newspaper she worked for. I had just opened up my new restaurant 'Sage' and apparently it was worthy of a review.

"_Sir, there's someone here to see you, she says her name is Katniss Everdeen, she's from the Panem Times to do a restaurant review." I turn around to see Madge, one of the waitresses standing at my office door._

_"Ah yes" I say, my mind reeling as I try to think back to ever booking such a thing. Madge must notice the confused look on my face because she quickly jumps in._

_"Delly booked it" she explains, "I can go out and cancel it for you. Tell her your busy."_

_"No no" I say standing up from my desk, "i'm not doing anything important anyway." I make my way out into the dining part of the restaurant, scanning the room for someone who looks as though they are from a newspaper firm. My eyes lock on a girl about my age, her raven hair so pulled back in a braid and she's wearing a pencil skirt and blouse. The outfit seems to indicate towards her being a journalist, however one further look at the papers and recorder that she has placed on the table confirm everything for me._

_I make my way over to her table. "Katniss Everdeen?" I ask. She looks up and her eyes are the only thing I seem to notice. A steely grey, captivating and intriguing._

_"Yes" she says, "Peeta Mellark?"_

_"Yeah that's me, may I?" I ask gesturing to the chair opposite her. She nods and I take a seat just as Madge brings over the entree. We eat in relative silence for the first few minutes until eventually she puts down her fork and places her hands in her lap._

_"Mr Mellark-"_

_"Peeta" I correct her with an easy going smile._

_"Peeta" she starts again, "your very young to have started up such a big business, 22 am I correct?"_

_"23 actually, but I only had my birthday a few weeks ago" I say._

_"Yes, well what made you think of opening up such a big business?" She asks, picking up her fork and taking another bite of the entree._

_"I always loved cooking, baking specifically. My family owned a bakery when I was growing up and this just so happened to be the pathway I followed." I say, remembering back to a time when I used to work in the small town bakery. I watch Katniss as she stares at me intently, her eyebrows furrowing as though she were trying to figure something out._

_The night passes quickly, once Katniss has asked all our questions, we are only just finishing the main meal, which leaves a lot of time during dessert for me to ask questions about her. It's not how business meetings like this usually go, however this seems like something entirely different. We laugh and she opens up about her past and her family, something which shocks me._

_"I should get going" she says after the restaurant has nearly cleared out. I nod my head and stand up with her._

_I follow her out the door and she turns around, stopping mid walk. "Why are you following me?" She asks._

_"I'm walking you to your car..." I say, unsure if I should have asked her beforehand or not, I guess I didn't really think about it. She smiles at me and then continues walking, I jog to catch up to her as we approach her car._

_"Um thank you for tonight, you know...answering my questions and all that" she says as she opens the drivers side door and leans on it._

_"It was my pleasure" I smile, "drive safe." She nods as she slides into the car and then rolls the window down. She is just about to drive away when my instincts take over. "Katniss wait!" I call out. She stops the car and I walk up the the window. "Would you um...would you maybe like to go out sometime?" I ask, I feel my face burn and I hope she doesn't notice since it's so dark out._

_"Like...on a date?" She asks, her voice rising in disbelief._

_"Uh yeah, I mean...only if you want to" I say immediately regretting even opening my mouth._

_"Sure."_

_I have to double take, not quite believing that she just agreed. After many shocked looks we eventually exchange numbers and I watch as the red tail lights of her car disappear. Not really believing what just happened._

After Finnick leaves, I skip dinner and instead write a letter out to Katniss. I remember back to when we saw each other for the last time. How our fingers curled together, holding on until the last moment. I didn't want to let her go, I didn't want to leave her tear stricken and heartbroken; unsure if she would ever see me again. The pain was undeniable, the tears stung my eyes and I couldn't stop them from slowly sliding down my cheeks.

My fingers curl around the pen as I clutch it tightly in my hand. I don't know how i'm going to finish writing this letter without crying, it seems inevitable. Eventually I manage to calm myself enough to get a clear head and soon the outside world is forgotten as I absorb myself in writing to Katniss for the first time in the two months since I last saw her.

_My dearest Katniss,_

_I would first like to apologise for taking so long to write you, I only just found out now from my friend Finnick that it was possible to converse through letters. I want to start by saying how much I love you, and how much I miss you. I never thought my heart could ache as much as it does when i'm away from you. Especially when my life seems to be of constant risk and I have no idea how you are doing. How are you? Are you coping okay with this distance separating us? I know i'm not._

_I feel as though words cannot even describe what I have been through. The battle and the heartbreak, the loss, it's all so intense I feel as though i'm living in a terrible nightmare. I'm afraid I'll never been able to sleep again, at least not with you in my arms. I've struggled to sleep at all and when i'm on the battlefield, you are all I think about. The inhuman acts that occur here are undeniably horrific, I know such unadulterated acts are causing me to feel sickened. I don't know how much longer I can stay here. I've made several friends in this group, I think you would like them. Finnick is a real ladies man, even in this group of men we have here! Him and I share a tent and he really lightens the mood around this place. He has a wife back at home, her name is Annie. They live in District four I think._

_The first day of setting up camp was tiring, it felt like the day would never end. When we finally got to sleep, we were told to rest up because they didn't know when the next time we could sleep would be. I don't think I've properly slept since that night. My days and nights seem to merge together into one endless nightmare. I don't want to tell you all the horrific details, it's too much and I couldn't bare to have you picture images at night like I do._

_After that night everything was just one hectic rhythmic system. You walk miles, you trek, you fight and think about the ones you love. We are constantly moving camp and somewhere in between all of these happenings, you have to find time to eat and sleep. Those times are usually when people either sit alone to mourn lost loved ones or family back home, Or they come together in rowdy groups, trying to forget everything. I warn to tell you more, oh so much more. But I feel like dreaming of a utopia will only blur my view of initiative and reality._

_I keep urging myself not to give up, because I know that I need to survive this. I need to survive this for you. Every time an explosion goes off, I will myself not to succumb to the roaring flames. I urge myself to run because I need to stay safe so that I can come home to you. Remember, I love you...always._

_Love Peeta_.

I notice a few ink smudges where my tears have fallen, just thinking about being able to see her again makes me want wish none of this would ever of had to happen. I fold the letter up and slide it into the envelope, sealing it up and holding it tightly in my hand as I make my way out of the tent. I notice everyone has grouped around a large bonfire. I scan the small crowd for Finnick and when I finally spot him talking to Boggs, I slowly walk over there, sniffling back the last of my tears.

"Hey Finnick, where do you put you letters to be sent?" I ask as I hold mine up to show him I wrote one.

"It's your lucky hour dear friend" he smiles broadly, clapping Boggs on the shoulder. "Boggs here takes them and they get delivered, can't say I know what he does with them though" he smirks.

"Oh." I turn to Boggs and hold out my letter, "would you mine delivering this one?"

"Peeta I don't actually deliver them you know" he says, taking the letter from me. "I pass them on to the the airmail."

"Yeah, I figured that" I say, looking around the campsite, we've been here for a couple of days, we will be moving on soon.

"Peeta, come on let's go sit by the fire," Finnick says as we bid Boggs goodbye and make our way over to one of the logs. I sit down and lean my head into my hands. It throbs painfully with an oncoming headache. "How are you holding up?" Finnick asks, resting his elbows on his knees then leaning his chin on his clasped hands. I shake my head and sit up straight.

"Not good. This isn't my thing, i'm not a harsh person, I can't do this, nor can I live away from Katniss" I explain quietly.

"I know how you feel, especially about being away from your girl...Annie's expecting, she told me in her last letter" he confesses, sighing loudly, taking in a shaky breathe. "She said she wanted to tell me in person but she didn't find out until after I left, and then she couldn't bare the thought of me leaving her, of dying and not even knowing. But now I have another reason for living, you know? Another reason to fight and return home."

I nod my head, because I do understand completely. Katniss may not be expecting a baby, but in the future it's certainly a possibility and not one i'm willing to throw away. War may change me, but it will never change my feelings towards her and I know that she is my only priority right now. Finnick and I sit silently both staring at the fire. I watch as the flames lick up into the air, the bright orange contrasting against the dark night sky. I focus of nothing but the burning embers and flames, they crackle and spark as they die and take in air. It's a crazy metaphor my mind came up with, but fire does so much damage to things, it breaks people apart and destroys everything in its wake. Yet it requires air to breathe, to live, just live everything else living. But fire isn't alive, is it? I can't seem to work around the concept of it all.

The next day we pack up camp, just as I had expected. Finnick and I pack up the portable beds and desk which folds down into a square. We pack our large bags and then, as a large group, trek to the next camp site. The walk is long and tiring. The sun beats down on us, I can feel the skin on my face burning. Sweat drips through my hair and down my face, along my neck and into my shirt. It uncomfortable and I feel like dropping to the ground and giving up. But I only have to think of Katniss. My legs shake and of numb. This is by far, the longest we've walked yet, not to mention it's in the heat of the day, surrounded by dirt and dust which attract heat.

It's evening when we finally reach the camp. Finnick and I set up our tents and beds straight away wanting nothing more than to fall asleep for days on end. We don't wait until after dinner before we both succumb to sleep, and I pretty sure most other men are doing the same thing.

When I wake it's still dark out. I can hear voices outside the tent which means I can't have slept for that long. I see Finnick is gone from his bed and I crawl out of the tent and see everyone is eating dinner, most people have tired and expressionless faces, everyone still affect from today's long walk.

I walk over and sit with Finnick and Thresh as they hand me a plate of the beans and rice. The food here is never good, but you have to take what you can get, it's the best we can get out here. "Did you see the new recruit Peet?" Thresh asks me as I shovel the food into my mouth. I shake my head and look around, I can't see any unfamiliar faces.

"It's a girl" he stresses curiously.

"A girl?" I say shocked before shaking my head. "They don't enlist girls into the marines and army."

"Now they do, and she's a fiesty one. The world's changing Peeta." Finnick says quietly.

"Where is she?" I ask, still looking around for her.

"Over there." I look in the direction where Thresh is pointing and finally see the girl he is talking about. She is talking to Boggs, her arms are crossed over her chest and just her stance indicates towards someone with an attitude. It's hard to tell only by the light of the fire, by she seems to have short dark hair and an exasperated look upon her face.

"I wonder why she's here," I say aloud.

"Apparently she volunteered" Thresh mentions as we all turn away from looking at her.

"Why would anyone volunteer for something like this?" I whisper, voicing everyone's thoughts on such a matter. We've all been through the pain and hardship of living like this, it's not something we are doing by choice. She must have a reason, there's no way anyone would willingly come to fight in such deplorable actions, unless you of course didn't care for you life or the feelings of others.

It's a few days later when I get an unexpected yet extremely heart aching surprise. The mail came in and a letter addressed to me was handed over. I recognised Katniss' writing immediately on the front of the envelope. I stare at it in shock, she got my letter? She must have. I wander back to my tent, still staring at the envelope until I collapse on my bed. Slowly I pull the letter out and unfold it, the paper crisp under my fingers, fresh with ink and hundreds of words which Katniss has written to me. My eyes water, just at the sight of her writing, it's a piece of her which I now have with me.

_To my loving Peeta,_

_To say it has been too long is an understatement. My days are long and tiring, though not as much as yours are i'm sure. I'm constantly worried about you, you next to never leave my mind. I too have been having nightmares about losing you. About you never coming home to me. The other day, my boss tried to get me to write a news report on one of the people in your group who died defending his friend's honour. I couldn't do it, the pain was too much, just thinking about such drastic events and that you may be torn from my life as dauntingly as that man was torn from his family._

_Please keep sending me letters and keeping me updated, I need to know for sure that you are safe and okay. My mother and Prim took me out for lunch the other day, they were trying to get my mind off of you. It sort of worked for a little bit, I hadn't seen them in ages and we had a lot of catching up to do. But every time someone mentioned a certain word or I saw a picture of something, it reminded me of you. On the menu they had lamb stew with dried plums. It reminded me of our first date when you took me to the small restaurant out the back of the movie theatre._

_Prim and Rory finally got together, they went on their first 'official' date the other day, he took her to a meadow. Not our meadow though, Prim knows that place is ours. She tells me she is really happy with him and i'm glad to see her smile, it makes me happy to know my little sister is finally getting the life she deserves._

_Peeta, I need to you know how much I love you, words cannot even describe the pain and longing I feel at your absence and I wish you could come home, please come home to me. come home alive, otherwise I don't know what I would do. I wouldn't be living anymore, i'm afraid I will turn into a shell, like my mother when my father died all those years ago._

_Please, come home._

_Love Katniss._

I clutch the letter to my chest tightly, desperately holding onto this piece of the woman I love more than anything. I remember everything she mentioned in her letter, the lamb stew on our first date, that was one of the best nights of my life. I give a small laugh thinking about Prim and Rory finally making their relationship official. They've been floundering around together for years now, never making it official and never seeing anybody else. But the mention of the meadow is what brings me to tears. We found it when we were camping one long weekend. It was beautiful with it sparkling silver lake, rich green grass dotted with dandelions and the sun which created a loving warmth. That meadow then became our place, every weekend we could we would go out there and just relax, that was the place where I had been planning on proposing to her. I had the ring and everything and then I got the call and everything changed. I didn't want to propose only to die a week later in the war. I couldn't bare to have Katniss live with that for the rest of her life, and it wasn't how I planned our future to be, I couldn't destroy what I had planned. Instead I bought the ring with me, it lays buried at the bottom of my bag, so that I can propose to her the moment I go home. Because I am going to make it home.

The next month brings about more pain and hardship than I ever thought existed in this world. The nights grow longer as we slowly come into winter and soon even the daytime is dark with the gloomy grey clouds which hover above us. Katniss and I continue to send letters to each other, we tell each other almost everything through these letters, as though we were actually together. However, I don't replay the images of fighting and bloodbath to her, I can only imagine what images it would put into her head, that's not something I wish for her to have to endure. Each time I sit down and write to her, I struggle to hold back my emotions. War has changed me. To kill another man, even unintentionally will automatically change your person. The dehumanisation of war affects everyone, the perpetrators and spectators and those directly in the line of fire. Johanna, the new girl to our group turned out to be an absolute firecracker. She's tougher than anyone I've ever seen. She never lets her emotions play on her face and is always the crude and snappy one out of all of us. I remember when I first told Katniss about her in my letter, she had sent back questions asking me if I thought she was pretty. Though I think she tried to be subtle about it, I knew she was worried I had fallen out of love with her. I assured her that though she wasn't ugly, Johanna definitely wasn't my type, I only had eyes for Katniss herself.

It is nearly six months after I've left Katniss back home when we get an excited surprise. Boggs came over to us while we were eating dinner one night to tell us that he had scheduled for us to have two days leave before we had to return here. Finnick and I immediately began planning for our trips home to see Katniss and Annie. I wrote a letter to Prim, letting her know about our surprise and asking her to get Katniss to the District 12 airport at the time my flight was scheduled to land, but making sure to not tell her anything about my coming home. She wrote back, expressing how excited she was, I could almost hear her squeals through the paper in which we spoken. That thought had made me smile, I didn't realise until then how much I had missed little Prim

So that's how I got here, climbing off a plane into the airport of my hometown, about to see the woman I love for the first time in six months. I sling my bag over my shoulder as I follow the crowd down the hallways. Most people head towards the baggage claim, though because I am only staying for two days, I only took a carry on bag. It takes awhile to get through customs though once I am finally free I can't help my stomach from squirming excitedly. I make my way through the crowds, constantly scanning the room for Katniss and Prim.

Finally, I catch sight of the back of Katniss, her long, dark braid hanging over her shoulder and then I meet Prim's bright blue eyes over her shoulder. Her entire face lights up and she takes her eyes off mine to say something to Katniss. I stand still and watch as Katniss turns around, scanning the room, a confused look upon her face. I start to walk forward, quickening my pace as I fight through the crowds to get to her.

And then her eyes lock onto mine, and I swear the whole world stops. For a moment she just stares at me and then her entire face explodes into the biggest smile I have ever seen. "Peeta!" She squeals as she runs towards me, pushing people out of her way. I drop my bag just in time to catch her as she leaps into my arms, her legs wrapping around my waist tightly. I can feel her shaking as she clings onto me tightly, I bury my face in the side of her neck, peppering hundreds of kissed there as I hold onto her for dear life. She pulls away and presses her lips against mine, over and over, kissing me with so much passion I don't know how I've gone six months without her.

"Your home" she whispers in a shaky voice, her hand resting on the side of my face.

"Only for two days" I croak, "but I had to see you." I reach forward and kiss her again, her fingers slide through my hair, pulling at the roots. I set her down on the ground but neither of us wants to let go. So we just stand there, trapped in an embrace for who knows how long. The people around us are forgotten as I close my eyes and this time i'm not imagining her arms wrapped around me, its real. It's very real.

Slowly, I pull away and reach one hand into my pocket, where I placed the engagement ring while we were on the plane. I knew I would propose the moment I saw her, I knew I couldn't possibly wait any longer.

"Katniss" I say, slowly getting down on one knee. Her eyes go wide and fill with even more tears as she covers her mouth in shock. "I've had this ring for awhile now, I had planned on asking you in our meadow, but I know that there's no better time to ask than now. I promise to love you, everyday for the rest of my life, and as far as i'm concerned, not even after death will I ever stop truly loving you. Katniss, will you marry me?"

She nods her head frantically, laughing through her tears as she reaches down and pulls me up from the ground, kissing me again and again. "Yes, Peeta" she smiles against my lips. I slide the ring onto her finger and wrap her up in a big hug, never wanting to let go of this woman again.

I hear an excited squeal and let go of Katniss as I see Prim running over to us. I hold out my arms and she flies into them, hugging me tightly before pulling back and talking a million miles a minute. "oh my God this is so exciting! Katniss I can't believe you guys are getting married and Peeta's back, even if it is only for two days, but oh i'm just so happy and this is too much." Tears fill her eyes and I laugh as I reach out and pat her on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's go enjoy my two days here," I say as Katniss walks beside me with her arms around my waist, neither of us wanting to ever let the other one go.

Sometimes I think that going back to District 12 for two days was a bad idea, it created a further longing for something which I couldn't have while I was away at war. It's been five months since I last went to my hometown, since I last saw Katniss and we got engaged. We spent our next two days as two of the happiest days and saddest days yet. We tried not to think about the fact that I was only able to stay for two days. Instead we spent majority of our time in the bedroom and the meadow. I didn't take her out to the movies, because I would much rather be looking at my future wife than a screen.

Saying goodbye was harder than the first time. We had gotten engaged and those two days alone had given us a taste of what we missed most when I was away. Of being able to hold each other as we slept and even just hold hands, kiss and hug each other.

Once I was back at the camp, we continued to write letters to each other, they kept us both sane I think. These five months have been hard, not just in terms of mental state, but physically and emotionally it's been draining. there's more trekking and fighting now, we are packing up and moving on camps more often than ever.

Finnick said his visit with Annie was amazing, her baby bump was growing and he said she was practically glowing in her pregnancy. The idea filled me with longing for when Katniss and I can eventually start a family together. Johanna didn't go anywhere in our two day leave. She stayed at the camp, something which fills me with curiosity and sadness. Did she have no family or friends to visit. The night we got back to camp, I went over and talked to her. at first she was closed off, not willing to talk to me. but once the floodgates were open, she spilled her entire heart and mind out to me.

I learnt that her husband had been killed in battle and he was the only family she had left. She continued on with her life for awhile but felt as though she had no meaning or purpose, so for that reason, she volunteered.

"People said it was dangerous" she had told me. "They said I wasn't in the right frame of mind to be fighting in war, that I had nothing to fight for. But they were wrong. I'm going to fight for Cato and the remembrance of him, i'm never going to forget." Since then she's been hanging out with me, finnick and a few of the other guys whose tents are always set up next to ours.

It's on a Thursday night when disaster strikes.

I wake up from my sleep when the ground beneath me begins to shake violently. I glance over to see Finnick sitting up, looking around frantically. "Peeta what's going on?" He asks, his voice shaking terribly.

"I don't know" I croak out as I crawl out of my bed and open the tent flap to peer outside. The panic is instant as I catch sight of everyone running around, screaming orders as flames rip through the camp, soaring high up into the night sky. "Finnick we have to get out of here" I call out as we both hastily pull on some shoes and bolt from the tent. I hear Finnick swear as he looks around the camp.

"Thresh!" He calls out as he runs past us. Thresh stops and, knowing what we want to hear, tells us what is happening.

"We're being attacked, bombers and people on the ground as well, all with guns," he explains before running off to shake other people from their tents.

There's a loud whistling noise and the next thing I know, Finnick and I are thrown to the ground as a bomb hits the earth. Luckily it was only a smaller one. I catch site of our tent, the flames rise up from the canvas and my heart stops. Katniss, her letters and photo are in there. I scramble to my feet and flee towards our tent. I ignore Finnick's shouts at me not to go in but I know I need to saved the only things I have of hers.

The tent is burning, filled with smoke and flames. I catch site of my bag, still thankfully untouched by the flames, I quickly rip through it, pulling out the stack of letters and Katniss' photo. I stuff them into my pocket as I bolt from the tent, coughing from the thick smoke.

"Are you crazy?" Finnick shouts as I make my way over to him.

"I had to get them, I couldn't let hem burn" I say desperately. He shakes his head just as a bunch of screams spread through the camp, loud gunshots pierce though the air as havoc arises rapidly. Finnick and I run towards the sounds, searching the ground for a stray gun, ours were still in our now completely burnt tent. People are everywhere, trying to dodge gunshots and the high rising flames which are spreading quickly across the ground.

There are many faces I don't recognise, and I know they are the enemy, they hold large guns as they march in groups throughout our camp. I catch site of two people who I know we're in our group but I never knew their names. They are lying on the ground, unmoving. Swallowing the vomit rising in my throat I reach down and take both of their guns, handing one to Finnick I can no longer hold my stomach. I retch onto the ground, spitting as I cough up all of my dinner from last night.

"Hey Peeta we got get moving" Finnick says tapping my back worriedly. I stand up and turn around as I see a group of men marching towards us, aiming their guns at us. They begin to shoot yellow sparks fly as Finnick and I dodge the bullets. Finnick starts shooting back straight away but it takes me longer, I don't want to have to fight. Eventually though I realise it's that or i'm going to die. I shoot back, I can hear the men screaming and yelling at each other as they advance on us. I want to turn and run but I know turning my back to the enemy would be a stupid decision on my behalf.

Suddenly the gun flies from my hands as a bullet hits it. The impact of it shoots up my arm, causing me to scream out in pain. I look down to see a tear in my shirt on my forearm where the radiation from the bullet's strike burnt me. The skin is red raw and starting to bleed. I cry out as the pain is overwhelming. I can feel it spreading from my arm though my body.

"Peeta!" Finnick calls out as he continues to shoot back, he doesn't look at me, just says my name, letting me know that's he's still here. Just as I look up from my arm a second pain hits me, this one a million times worse than the first. I don't recognise the bloodcurdling scream which rips from my throat. I fall the the ground, clutching my leg tightly as my hearing and vision slowly fades. It's like everything is in slow motion. I turn my head to the side and watch as the fire turns blurry.

"Peeta! Peeta stay with us don't go, stay!" I can hear Finnick screaming as he shakes my shoulder but all I can think of is the antagonising pain which is spreading through my left leg. And then I succumb to the night.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Katniss)

When the shrill ringing off the phone wakes me at close to two am, I know that something isn't right. I answer the phone, my voice heavy with sleep.

"Miss Everdeen?" The voice asks.

"Yes this is she" I say, sitting up straighter in bed.

"I'm sorry to call you at such an awful time, but your fiancé Peeta Mellark is currently at the District 12 central hospital in critical condition. He's undergoing surgery now and we're going to need you to come down to the hospital to sign some papers and be here if he wakes up."

I don't know how long i'm silent for, but when I feel the tears slide down my face I know the man on the phone is still waiting for my answer. "um, yes I'll be there as soon as I can, can I ask what happened? Is he going to be okay?" I choke out.

"Mr Mellark was shot in the leg during a night attack, he also go radiation burn on his arm which has unfortunately spread. His condition upon arriving at the hospital was not a good one, however we promise to do everything we can to help him."

"Okay, thank you I'll be there as soon as I can" I tell him and hanging up before he can say anything else. With tears falling down my face and my stomach clenching worriedly, I dial Prim's number. She answers still half asleep though wakes up when she hears the desperation in my voice.

"Prim," I cry. "Peeta's in hospital, it's not good. Can you come pick me up?" I ask, my voice shaking horribly. She tells me she will be here as soon as she can and I quickly jump out of bed and pull on some clothes, including my favourite hoodie of Peeta's which I always wear.

I wait out the front of my house until Prim pulls up. I jump in the car straight away and neither of us talk as she drives to the hospital. I know she wants to ask questions but i'm glad she realises I don't want to talk about it until I know for sure exactly what is going on.

The office at the hospital tell me the exact same thing the man on the phone just told me. They hand me a clipboard with a form attached to it and instruct me to sit in the waiting room and fill it out while Peeta is still in surgery.

The form has all the basic questions, everything from name down to allergies when he was a child. It's lucky I know Peeta so well I guess. There's also a form for me to fill out about me being his emergency contact. After I've handed the forms back in there's nothing to do other than wait. Prim holds me as I curl up on the chair and lean against her, crying silently.

It's a few hours later when the doctors finally say we can go and see him. "He's just woken up so just try to keep your voice low and avoid any questions which might bring back bad memories" the doctor warns me. "Oh and also, I think you should know before you go in there. We had to amputate the lower half of Peeta's left leg where he was shot. The bullet hit the bone and it was beyond repair. We've told him the news and he didn't take it too well. He will of course be able to get a prosthetic. Other than that and some extremely bad night terrors, he will be perfectly fine. the radiation burn was easily fixed and will completely heal in a few weeks." My stomach churns uncomfortably and I feel as though I might throw up. Peeta's lost apart of his leg. Knowing there's nothing I can do other than be here for Peeta when he needs me, I nod and slowly push open the door.

Peeta lays in the bed, his eyes are red-rimmed and his skin is pale.

"Katniss" he mumbles, lifting him arm that isn't in a sling out towards me.

"Oh Peeta" I sigh, making my way over to him and kissing his forehead gently.

"I'm sorry" he whispers sadly.

"What are you sorry for?" I murmur, running my fingers through his hair.

"I'm a cripple, nobody wants a cripple, i'm sorry I ruined your life" he grumbles. My heart sinks hearing him talk so lowly of himself.

"Your not a cripple Peeta, and I still love you exactly the same way I did before all this happened, we'll get through it together okay?" I promise him. He nods his head and then closes his eyes. "You need to sleep, you must be tired" I tell him.

"I can't" he whispers, "i'm scared."

Instantly I know he is talking about the nightmares, I can only imagine how bad and horrific they must be. "I'll stay here with you" I promise him, taking a seat on the chair next to his bed and holding onto his hand tightly, I'll stay here with you forever."

"Do you promise?" He mumbles falling asleep already.

"Always" I whisper kissing his cheek as I feel his hand squeeze mine tightly.

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**Okay guys so if you have an idea for a one-shot you want me to write, please please please message me with your idea and I'll write it up. I want this book to be something you enjoy reading and the best way to do that is to have your ideas put into it. They can be anything you want, as wild or as simple or as imaginative as you can come up with. Fairytale adaptions are also always fun to write about.**

**All you need to do is send me a message or comment it and we can discuss everything you want put into it, I'll let everyone know that one was your idea. That is how you will know if the story idea was mine or not. If it doesn't have a shoutout at the top then the idea was mine.**

**Otherwise let me know what you thought of this chapter and feel free to share it around, this was quite an emotional one to write and I hope you guys all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**


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